There is no doubt that the Vikings of Minnesota experienced a brilliant regular season performance in 2024. The global record of 14-3 tied to the third best record in the league with the champion of the Super Bowl Philadelphia Eagles behind the Chiefs of Kansas City and the Lions of Detroit. We expected Vikings a little time this season because they had abandoned the Veteran quarterrier Kirk Cousins and had brought Sam Darnold to replace.
Darnold was clearly another guy when the Vikings signed him for a contract of $ 10 million to 1 year. He had played in the NFL for six seasons with the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers, and he had not distinguished himself at any time. The Vikings considered Darnold as a space reserved for the recruit JJ McCarthy, which had been selected with the n ° 10 selection in the first round of the draft last April.
McCarthy had led head coach Jim Harbaugh and the University of Michigan to the national championship in 2023 and the Vikings considered him as the QB1 of the team because of his skills, his arm strength, his precision and his athletics.
However, McCarthy underwent a meniscus torn in the Vikings in the first pre-season match of the team and missed all season. Darnold went from the replacement quarter to QB1 and he surpassed all expectations. He led the Vikings on sequences of victories of 5 and 9 games, and he launched for 4,319 yards with 35 affected and 12 interceptions.
On the surface, the Vikings have found their quarter of the present and the future because Darnold is 27 years old and has apparently found its way.
However, it will cost Vikings a lot to bring Darnold back. It can be one of the 3 key veterans that Vikings leave in the coming weeks and months.
Darnold was a star for the Vikings, but can he repeat his success
While the 2025 season was driving, it was weeks since Darnold did everything that the Vikings head coach, Kevin O’Connell, asked and led the team to several big victories.
But there are key questions. Can Darnold start again or was he last year a stroke of luck? How much do the Vikings have to pay to keep it and a huge increase prevent them from signing other key players who will help them win qualifying matches? Is Darnold really a better quarter of a healthy McCarthy?
There are too many questions to which O’Connell and the general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah must answer. Darnold is a good quarterly and O’Connell took out the best of him. However, Darnold struggled in the regular season final against the Lions of Detroit and the Wild Card eliminatory match against the Rams of Los Angeles.
In less than a week, the memorable Vikings season was short.
In the end, the cost of bringing Darnold – at least $ 35 million a year – will help the Vikings make the decision to let their starry quarter.
It is a decision that could explode on their faces, but it is also the one that could help Vikings reach a Super Bowl winner level they have never been able to reach.
Harrison Smith was brilliant for the Vikings, but the age caught him
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Smith has been the most efficient for 13 years and he gave everything to the team throughout his career. The former star of Notre-Dame and the selection in the first round in the draft of the 2012 NFL was six times in Pro Bowl and was three times All-Pro.
He was a field coach for the defense of Minnesota throughout the second half of his career and his ability to read the opposing quarters was a great asset for the team.
Smith comes out of a season with 87 plated, 3 interceptions, 10 defended passes and 1 escaped recovery. His best season may have been in 2017 when he had 4 interceptions, 12 defensive assists, 78 plated, 1.5 bags and 3 shots of a quarter.
As good as he was, Smith is 36 years old and following the fastest receivers and attacking the most powerful runners could be problematic at this stage of his career.
Bradbury Garret Center may not be able to manage the best interior defensive line players
Bradbury was a must for the Vikings in the middle of their offensive line since his arrival as the first round choice of the North Carolina State in 2019.
As the Vikings wrote it, there was a discussion on the question of whether it was tall and strong enough to manage the most difficult defensive line players. Bradbury is listed at 6-3 and 300 pounds, and this should be large enough to manage some of the most difficult competitors.
Bradbury was solid throughout his career, but when he was asked to compete with the largest, strongest and most nasty competitors, he was most often out of the battle.
Vikings need blockers in the middle of the offensive line that can dominate defenders. Bradbury cannot do this and the Vikings must separate from him.
